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The findings of the 2011 Census are finally trickling through, and the city has released its assessment of the demographic changes that may have a profound influence on Toronto's future development. Despite the numbers having been collected in the full flush of the condo boom, the city of Toronto's demographic primacy within the GTA is actually slipping. In 2011, it accounted for 48.2 per cent of GTA households, down from 49.8 per cent at the time of the 2006 census.

The A.T. Kearney Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index®, established in 1998 and now in its 14th edition, examines overarching trends and ranks countries on how changes in their political, economic, and regulatory systems are likely to affect foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in the coming years. A top-five investment destination for the second year in a row, Canada climbs to a new all-time high of 3rd place in 2014. It drew in $45.4 billion in 2012, up from 2011's $40.9 billion—one of only a handful of developed countries to buck the trend of declining FDI flows. Its high-tech expertise and skilled labor force have attracted an array of investments focused on R&D, including Cisco, which plans to invest up to $4 billion in Ontario through 2024.

The 2014 Edition of the Branham300 marks the 21st year of the listing. The Branham300 is the definitive listing of Canada's top publicly traded and privately held Information and Communication Technology (ICT) companies, as ranked by revenues. Canada’s ICT industry continued to move forward in 2013, yet again setting a record with cumulative revenues for the Top 250 Canadian ICT companies increasing by 2.4% to $85 billion. Despite significant decreases experienced by Blackberry (-40%), Canada's top technology firm in 2013, Canadian companies have more than made up for the difference.

A.T. Kearney’s Global Cities index examines a comprehensive list of 84 cities on every continent, and measures how globally engaged they are across 26 metrics in five dimensions: business activity, human capital, information exchange, cultural experience, and political engagement. Toronto places in the Top 20 Global Cities on the index, coming in at 13th place.

The 2014 Prosperity Index provides a lens through which to view a comprehensive assessment of national success. The Index measures the broad set of indicators that tell us not only how nations perform economically but in vital areas of education, health, freedom, opportunity, social capital, and more. The Prosperity Index covers 142 countries in the world, accounting for 96 per cent of the world’s population and 99 per cent of global GDP, making it the most comprehensive tool of its kind. This year, Canada ranks in the Top 5 on the 2014 Prosperity Index.

The Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index®, established in 1998, examines the overarching trends in FDI. The top 25 ranking is a forward-looking analysis of how political, economic, and regulatory changes will likely affect countries' FDI inflows in the coming years. Investors are more optimistic about the Americas than any other region, led by the United States but also including Canada (4th), Brazil (6th), and Mexico (9th). Fifty-one percent of respondents are more optimistic about economies in the Americas than last year and only 8 percent are more pessimistic.

A.T. Kearney's Global Cities Index examines a comprehensive list of 84 cities on every continent and measures how globally engaged they are across 26 metrics in five dimensions: business activity, human capital, information exchange, cultural experience, and political engagement. Toronto ranks in the top 20 this year, landing at number 13 and ahead of Boston, San Francisco, Miami, Sydney and Melbourne.

The world has changed. Emerging economies in Asia, South
America and Africa are racing ahead, driving a new era of intense
global competition. The Internet and information revolution
have made the world smaller, entrenching globalization.
Developed economies, still recovering from the worst financial
crisis and global recession since the 1930s, are reinventing
themselves to compete and win in the new global marketplace.
Ontario is no exception – the status quo is not an option.

The need for change is clear. Ontario's prosperity will depend on
innovative, highly productive firms that are flexible enough to
capitalize on opportunities wherever and whenever they emerge.
Governments, labour, the not-for-profit sector, academia and the
private sector need to rethink and realign their roles and actions
to build a competitive, globally oriented economy.

The top 10 of fDi’s third biennial ranking of American cities is a wholly North American affair, with all entrants located in Canada or the U.S. Rebounding somewhat following a turbulent economic period, FDI projects into North America increased 4.55% between 2012 and 2014.

Global competition is becoming tougher and more complicated than ever. Over the past 30 years, sharp declines in communication and transportation costs and the reduction of trade barriers have reshaped the global economy. Major new markets continue to open. Supply chains are becoming increasingly deverticalized and geographically dispersed.

As one of the world’s leading ICT and media hubs, Toronto has a rich technology ecosystem with remarkable breadth and depth. Located in a major urban centre, Toronto’s ICT sector thrives on the rapid innovation and introduction of new chnologies that stem from collaboration with a diverse range of sectors – for example, healthcare, education, social, cleantech, media and entertainment. The City’s ICT sector is constantly evolving with impressive growth being driven by a wide array of segments such as cloud computing, mobile platforms and applications

This discussion paper has been prepared to provide participants at Technicity 2010
with a brief overview of Toronto’s ICT sector. It attempts to capture the salient
characteristics of an industry that continues to re-invent itself.

Over the last 10 years, the global video game industry has grown significantly, and it continues to grow. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Global Entertainment and Media Outlook, global growth in consumer spending in the video game market is expected to average 7.2% CAGR, with global spending rising from US$59 billion in 2011 to US$83 billion by 2016. In this context of global growth, the video game industry in Canada continues to hold its own. The number of video game companies in Canada has remained fairly constant since 2011, while the overall employment level has increased over the same period. Canada’s current active video game firms are primarily located in Ontario (29.5%), Quebec (29.2%) and British Columbia (20.4%).

The CIBCWM Metropolitan Economic Activity Index is a measure designed to assess the relative performance of Canada's major cities using yearly changes for nine key macroeconomic variables and drivers of economic growth. For any given city, the index provides a consistent base for comparison with other cities and/or with the aggregate performance of all other Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs).

Analyzes the trajectory of 27 cities, all capitals of finance, commerce, and culture—and through their current performance seeks to open a window on what makes cities function best. This year, we also look ahead to 2025 to project employment, production, and population patterns, as well as “what if” scenarios that prepare for turns in the urban road.

Toronto's Imagination, Manufacturing, Innovation and Technology (IMIT) business incentive helps you reduce business costs and remain competitive. The IMIT program encourages new investment and employment growth and actively supports development activities that will make the city more prosperous, liveable and able to provide opportunity for all.

The Business Incubation and Commercialization (BIC) program supports small business success through community partners that offer an array of targeted entrepreneurial incubation programs, services, and resources. These include, among others, private office/ studio space, shared industrial equipment, business advisory/ mentoring services, product development support, market testing, access to capital, and networking opportunities. The city commissioned a consultant to undertake a review of the BIC Program to improve effectiveness, enhance flexibility, and build capacity for growth

Year: 2013

Categories:
Access to Capital, Business Services, Professional and Government Services

Community Improvement Plan Amendments to Implement Changes to the IMIT Program

This report brings forward proposed amendments to the Community Improvement Plans (CIPs) that enable the Imagination, Manufacturing, Innovation and Technology (IMIT) incentive program. The amendments implement the changes approved by City Council in July 2012 that resulted from a review of the IMIT property tax incentive program.

This report, commissioned by the Toronto Financial Services Alliance (TFSA), provides high level comparison of the regulatory environment that impacts the financial services industry in some of the main jurisdictions. The jurisdictions examined in this research are Canada, Dubai, the European Union, Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. Canada ranks 1st as a regulatory environment for Financial Services, and ranks 3rd overall, ahead of the super powers such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union.

This report is a supplement to the 2012 edition of Competitive Alternatives, KPMG's guide to international business location costs. It assesses the general tax competitiveness of the 113 cities in 14 countries studied in the main research project, focusing on 55 major international cities.

This report is a supplement to the 2014 edition of Competitive Alternatives, KPMG’s guide to international business location costs. This report assesses the general tax competitiveness of the 107 cities in 10 countries featured in the main research report, with a focus on 51 major international cities. Among the countries studied, Canada has the lowest Total Tax Index at 53.6, and Toronto had the lowest taxes among all major cities studied across all sectors and operations.

Together, the Boston Consulting Group and The Network conducted research on today’s global workforce – everything from what people in different parts of the world expect of their jobs to what would prompt them to move to another country for work to the countries they would consider moving to. More than 200,000 people from 189 countries participated in the survey, creating a multidimensional picture that employers may find useful both for recruiting internationally and for redesigning their overall people strategies. The report found Canada in the Top 3 countries for job seekers and ranked Toronto in the Top 10 most appealing cities to live and work.

Digital Canada 150 represents a comprehensive approach to ensuring Canada can take full advantage of the opportunities of the digital age. It envisions a country of connected citizens armed with the skills they need to succeed. The Government plays a key role in ensuring that consumers are protected and action is taken to end price discrimination. We have introduced measures to protect Canadians and their families while encouraging healthy competition and lower consumer prices.

The report Diversity in Toronto: A Community Profile highlights the trends and differences
for immigrants – both established and recent – as well as people who identify as members
of racialized groups. Using the gauges of place of birth, language, age and period of
immigration, this report will highlight the uniqueness and diversity of people in Toronto
today – and bring to light some worrying challenges facing those who have most recently
arrived.

Doing Business 2013: Smarter Regulations for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises

Tenth in a series of annual reports comparing business regulation in 185 economies, Doing Business 2013 measures regulations affecting 11 areas of everyday business activity:

Starting a business

Dealing with construction permits

Getting electricity

Registering property

Getting credit

Protecting investors

Paying taxes

Trading across borders

Enforcing contracts

Closing a business

Employing workers

The report updates all indicators as of June 1, 2012, ranks economies on their overall "ease of doing business", and analyzes reforms to business regulation - identifying which economies are strengthening their business environment the most.

Doing Business 2013: Smarter Regulations for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises - Canadian Addition

The Canadian economy profiled. Doing Business 2013 measures regulations affecting 11 areas of everyday business activity:

Starting a business

Dealing with construction permits

Getting electricity

Registering property

Getting credit

Protecting investors

Paying taxes

Trading across borders

Enforcing contracts

Closing a business

Employing workers

The report updates all indicators as of June 1, 2012, ranks economies on their overall "ease of doing business", and analyzes reforms to business regulation - identifying which economies are strengthening their business environment the most.

This Guide provides non-Canadians with an introduction to the laws and regulations that affect the conduct of business in Canada and, in particular, in the province of Ontario. In some cases, this Guide also identifies issues in the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. Because of Canada’s federal structure, the authority to make laws and regulations is divided between the federal and provincial governments by the Canadian Constitution although,in some areas of divided authority, both federal and provincial laws may apply.

For all the talk about the potential of emerging markets, developed economies in North America, Western Europe and Asia remain the best places to do business, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit’s latest Business Environment Rankings (BER). Canada improves three places between 2009-13 and 2014-18, to the world’s fourth best investment location after Singapore, Switzerland and Hong Kong. It ranks extremely well on market opportunities, owing to high levels of GDP per capita, strong trade flows and a wealth of natural resources, which will continue to be a source of macroeconomic strength. Foreign trade and exchange controls also remain an area of strength, despite some protection in some sectors and incomplete efforts to diversify export markets. Tight regulation and relatively cautious lending policies will maintain the soundness of the banking sector. Tax remains one of Canada’s weaker categories, reflecting the complexity of the corporate tax system, which is a mixture of federal and provincial tax regimes, but a lower score in this area will not detract from the overall attractiveness of Canada’s business environment.

The concept of liveability is simple: it assesses which locations around the world provide the best or the worst living conditions. Assessing liveability has a broad range of uses, from benchmarking perceptions of development levels to assigning a hardship allowance as part of expatriate relocation packages. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s liveability rating quantifies the challenges that might be presented to an individual’s lifestyle in any given location, and allows for direct comparison between locations. Toronto once again ranks in the top 5 of 140 cities surveyed.

Year: 2014

Categories:
Amenities, Business Environment, Living in Toronto, Quality of Life

The Economist Intelligence Unit defines a city’s competitiveness as its ability to attract capital, businesses, talent and visitors. The 2025 City Competitiveness Index benchmarks the competitiveness of 120 cities across the world at two distinct points in time: today and in 2025. North American cities dominate the list of the most competitive cities in the 2025 Index. Six of the top 20 are US cities: New York (1st), Chicago (9th), Washington DC (14th), Los Angeles (17th), San Francisco (18th) and Boston (19th). One Canadian city, Toronto, falls into the top 20, ranked at 10th.

The federal government recently launched public consultations asking the key question, "What is the appropriate level of immigration for Canada?" While simple at first glance, this is an exceedingly difficult question to answer. Immigration has many different goals and each goal will augur for a different level. Put simply, there is no magic number. Traditionally, Canada has accepted around 0.8% of its population in new permanent residents each year (chart 1). However, we are now at an inflection point.

A detailed report of Canada’s Financial Services Industry including information about FDI, innovation, skills and research, as well as the cost and competitive advantages of Canada’s Financial Services sector

Canada ranks No. 1 overall in Forbes annual look at the Best Countries for Business. The Best Countries for Business looks at 11 different factors for 134 countries. The factors including in the study are property rights, innovation, taxes, technology, corruption, freedom (personal, trade, and monetary), red tape, investor protection and stock market performance.

A.T. Kearney's Global Cities Index (GCI) examines a comprehensive list of 84 cities on every continent, measuring how globally engaged they are across 26 metrics. The companion Emerging Cities Outlook (ECO) complements the GCI by analyzing the likelihood that 34 cities in low- and middle-income countries will improve their global positioning over the next 10 to 20 years. By focusing on the elements that contribute to the generation, attraction, and retention of global capital, people, and ideas, the GCI and ECO can be powerful tools in the hands of policy makers and business leaders.

The Global Power City Index evaluates and ranks the major cities of the world according to their "magnetism," i.e., their comprehensive power to attract creative people and excellent companies from around the world amidst accelerated interurban competition.

The GFCI provides profiles, ratings and rankings for 77 financial centres. The aim of the GFCI is to examine the major financial centres globally in terms of competitiveness. The GFCI has been published every six months (although the index is actually produced every three months).

The latest Global Financial Centres Index, GFCI 14, covering 80 financial centres, was published on September 30 by the London based Z/Yen Group. Toronto moved up one notch in the rankings, and remains one of only 11 financial centres judged by GFCI to be a "global leader," owing to the breadth and depth of its financial services industry. As a sub-sector, Toronto's asset management capabilities placed it among the top ten centres in the world, according to GFCI 14. GFCI joins The Banker, The Economist, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PwC in ranking Toronto highly as an international financial centre, a place to do business and a place to live.

Demonstrates role of ICT as it dramatically transforms the world, enables innovation and productivity increases, connects people and communities, and improves standards of living and opportunities across the globe.

This report examines trends in both Canadian and global international trade and investment in financial services, looking at how Canadian financial institutions operate internationally, their key challenges, and factors in their success. Financial services such as insurance, banking, securities trading, and portfolio management are becoming increasingly tradable in the modern economy; since 2000, global exports have tripled and Canadian exports quadrupled.

The Report displays Canada's performance for all available years between 1996 and 2008 in six governance dimensions: i) Voice &
Accountability, ii) Political Stability and Lack of Violence/Terrorism, iii) Government Effectiveness, iv) Regulatory Quality, v) Rule of Law, and vi)
Control of Corruption.

Higher aspirations; A look at life in CityPlace, the model for Toronto's future skyward urbanity

You can see a lot from the floor-to-ceiling windows in Jonathan Careless' 39th storey downtown condo: North York, Pearson airport, the Niagara Escarpment - and the mind-boggling number of people who live in a compact space in the sky just like his. "I look right at my neighbours," he said, motioning at the vertical city lit up in the night, row after row of tiny living rooms and kitchens visible in the CityPlace condos that surround him. "I can see them come home and make dinner." Thirteen thousand people call these soaring glass buildings along the waterfront near the Rogers Centre home. By 2018, 18,000 will live in 10,000 units in 25 buildings, making their homes and their lives on top of one another.

Study looks at the risks related to recruitment, employment and retirement. Aon survied 110 cities worldwide based on population size, population growth, the level of foreign investment and geographic spread.

The Economist Intelligence Unit's Global City Competitiveness Report 2012. Hot spots is an Economist Intelligence Unit research programme, commissioned by Citigroup, which ranks the competitiveness of 120 of the world's major cities.

The City of Toronto, as Canada’s most populous city, is a focal point of development, growth and urbanization, and the vital heart of a growing urban region. Toronto has experienced a surge of both residential and non-residential growth with construction cranes a constant presence across the City’s skyline. This bulletin is an update to the June 2011 publication and examines how and where the City has been growing and how it will continue to develop over the next ten to twenty years.

Implementing Toronto's Workforce Development Strategy: Progress to Date and Necessary Next Steps

In March 2012, City Council unanimously endorsed Toronto's first workforce development strategy,Working as One: A Workforce Development Strategy for Toronto. The strategy provides a blueprint, in terms of both its vision and approach, for an integrated employment services system in Toronto, as part of an integrated workforce development strategy. Along with Collaborating for Competiveness: A Strategic Plan to Accelerate Economic Growth and Job Creation in Toronto and the Toronto Strong Neighbourhoods Strategy 2020, it is a key component of the City's strategic framework to sustain and advance economic growth, ensure all communities share in the opportunities that are created, and better connect jobseekers and employers.

Toronto moved up two places on this year’s Index into the top 10 globally. The Innovation Cities Top Cities ranks the top cities in the world as innovation destinations. In 2011 the top Nexus cities (10% of all benchmark cities), Hub cities (next 20%) and selected Node cities are ranked.

Invest and Operate in Canada - What Chinese state-owned enterprises need to know

There is little doubt that Canada has become a prime investment location for Chinese state-owned enterprises
(SOEs) in recent years – and for good reason. China’s five-year plan for 2011-2015 encourages overseas
expansion and cooperation to secure access to resources, acquire technology and improve management
capabilities. Canada offers all this and more. In addition to being rich in energy and natural resources, Canada
provides advanced technology in new material, new energy and high-tech.

The Flagship Report provides Canada’s value proposition to foreign investors. It offers a comprehensive presentation of Canada’s conducive business environment and presents the wealth of business opportunities in 7 leading-edge sectors.

Competitive Alternatives is a biennial KPMG study that focuses on business locations in the NAFTA marketplace, as well as leading mature market countries in Europe and Asia Pacific. This study contains valuable information for any company considering international business location options. Canada ranks 2nd among the 10 countries, with business costs 7.2 per cent lower than in the United States. Moving ahead of both the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, Canada re-establishes a competitive advantage over these countries seen in 2010 and earlier editions of Competitive Alternatives.

Ontario’s life sciences sector makes significant contributions to the provincial economy. Employing approximately 83,000 highly skilled workers at more than 5,600 companies, the sector ranks among North America’s top clusters. Conservative estimates put the industry’s annual revenues at $40.5B, which directly contributes $21.6B to Ontario’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Wages in the life sciences sector are 26.5 per cent higher than the provincial average and the sector’s workforce contributes approximately 10 per cent of the total personal income tax revenues Ontario annually collects (when including an expanded definition of life sciences.) Between 2001 and 2013, the sector’s job growth outpaced the provincial average by nearly 10 per cent and demonstrated resilience during the 2008 economic downturn.

Toronto is a large, complex mature urban centre that continues to grow through intensification, rebuilding and reurbanization. A key principle of Toronto's Official Plan is to manage this growth in a way that directs significant change to some areas while protecting existing neighbourhoods.The Official Plan identifies Downtown and the Centres (Scarborough, North York, Etobicoke and Yonge-Eglinton) as important growth areas

Year: 2012

Categories:
Educational Attainment, Labour Force, Living in Toronto, Quality of Life

Manufacturing the future: The next era of global growth and innovation

Manufacturing the future: The next era of global growth and innovation, a major report from the McKinsey Global Institute, presents a clear view of how manufacturing contributes to the global economy today and how it will probably evolve over the coming decade.

The Mercer Quality of Living Survey assesses quality of living conditions to help multinational companies and other employers fairly compensate employees when placing them on international assignments. Mercer compiles Quality of Living Reports and Location Evaluation Reports for each city, providing an overview of conditions and hardship premium recommendations. In 2015, Toronto ranks 2nd in the North American Quality of Living rankings, and 15th worldwide. “Canada continues to offer a high quality of living for residents and expatriate employees,” said Eleana Rodriguez, Market Business Leader for Mercer Canada’s Information Solutions group. “Major Canadian cities tend to rank highly due to Canada’s favourable political and social environment, as well as medical and health considerations. Our quality of living plays an important role as we continue to see more multinational corporations open doors in Canada, providing significant opportunities.”

Metro Cities and Metros as Hubs of Advanced Industries and Integrated Goods Trade North America 2013

Metro Cities and Metros as Hubs of Advanced Industries and Integrated Goods Trade North America, a report from the Brookings Institution, confirms that Toronto is a North American trade powerhouse. The Greater Toronto Area leads all other North American city-regions as a continental trading hub. The Washington-based think tank took a look at cross-border trade in goods among Canada, the U.S. and Mexico on a city-to-city scale, and the GTA came out as the partner in the top three city pairs. The study looked at broad city-regions – comparable to the GTA – in defining all the cities in the study.

The Global Opportunity Index answers a pressing need for information that's vital to a thriving global economy. What policies can governments pursue to attract foreign direct investment (FDI), expand their economies, and accelerate job creation? What do multinational companies, other investors, and development agencies need to know before making large-scale, long-term capital commitments? The index provides a systematic, data-rich framework to shed light on nations' attractiveness to foreign investors, the kind that commit "patient" capital to strategic projects that benefit all parties well into the future. It not only considers economic variables but also examines key business, legal, and regulatory policies that can drive those decisions.

This document lays out a vision for the continued growth and leadership of Ontario’s cultural and other creative industries including: film, television, publishing, music, commercial theatre and interactive digital media industries.

Report sheds light on the growing opportunity in the global life sciences sector and highlight's Ontario's competitive advantage. Includes snapshots of pharmaceutical, medical and assistive devices, and biotech sectors , government incentives and funding programs.

Our Paying Taxes study demonstrates again that reform of tax systems
around the world is continuing. There is an increasing focus on improving
the administrative aspects of tax systems including the use of electronic
ling and payment for tax returns, the reduction in the number of taxes
per base and an increasing use of self assessment procedures.

Governments, business and civil society all benet from a fair, stable
and sustainable tax system which can help to encourage growth. rticles
included in this report continue to demonstrate the engagement of
government with tax reform giving insights into how the Paying Taxes
data has been used and providing details of the reforms that have been
and are being implemented.

Toronto’s financial services sector accounts for nearly 8 per cent of Toronto’s employment; the sector in Canada accounts for 11 per cent of total Canadian services exports. This report examines the sector’s direct/indirect employment and GDP effects; looks at characteristics of Toronto’s financial services sector, comparing them with other global financial centres; and discusses the role of foreign trade and investment in financial services.

Cities of Opportunity 6 analyzes the trajectory of 30 cities, all capitals of finance, commerce, and culture — and, through their current performance, seeks to open a window on what makes cities function best. This year, Toronto remains in the Top 5 at number four. Cities were measured against a wide range of targeted, consistent and transparent data that reflect the cities’ balanced social and economic vital signs. The 30 cities studied embody the energy, opportunity, and hope that draw new people every day to city life and make urbanization one of the most powerful mega trends of our time.

Sitting steady in the Top 10 ranking for the last three studies, Canada remains in 8th place when it comes to its ease of paying taxes for businesses, according to Paying Taxes 2014 - a joint study from PwC and the World Bank Group that reviews tax regimes in 189 economies around the world. Paying Taxes 2014 measures the overall ease of paying taxes for a hypothetical small to medium-sized domestic business by assessing three indicators: number of tax payments per year; time taken to compile returns and submit tax payments; and by calculating companies' total tax liability as a percentage of pre-tax profits. “Within North America, Canada maintains the lowest average total tax rate ranking largely due to its efforts to establish a tax-competitive and business-friendly environment,” says Brad Sakich, Canadian tax policy leader, PwC. “Privately owned small businesses in Canada should take comfort — the ranking demonstrates that Canadian government agencies support and encourage the creation of more such businesses.”

Spotlight on the Greater Toronto Area
• Tenant interest in new downtown towers may lead to further office development
• Alternative workplace strategies gaining popularity
• Best opportunities in downtown core and building-specific
• Suburban markets beginning to rebound from recession

According to Grosvenor’s research, the three most resilient cities in the world are in Canada, with Toronto topping the list. Canadian cities have a strong combination of low vulnerability and high adaptive capacity. There is a high level of resource availability, and Canadian cities are well governed and well planned.

The purpose of the report was to provide a snapshot, at a specific point in time, of the comparable capital position of the world's largest banks, based on our methodology for assessing capital adequacy on a globally consistent basis.

Toronto is the largest startup ecosystem in Canada and is one of the largest startup ecosystems globally even though it creates 85% less startups than SV. It has a healthy funnel of startups across the stages of the Startup Lifecycle. Toronto competes for startups with regional competitors such as NYC, Boston and nearby Waterloo.

"The increasingly vibrant startup activity of Toronto combined with its lack of capital presents a large opportunity for investors..."

Industry Canada has partnered with the Design Exchange (DX) and the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME) to review the valuable service business function of PD&D. By collecting insights from the industry and international research organizations, and using economic modelling conducted by Industry Canada, this industry–government collaboration has produced a complete user/service provider profile of PD&D in Canada, summarized here in this report. This unique analysis is intended to help Canadian PD&D executives as well as decision makers understand current market trends and recognize the advantages of investing in PD&D to improve business competitiveness.

The City is the Home of Prosperity. It is the place where human beings find satisfaction of basic needs and access to essential public goods. The city is also where ambitions, aspirations and other material and immaterial aspects of life are realized, providing contentment and happiness. It is a locus at which the prospects of prosperity and individual and collective well-being can be increased. The Report proposes a new tool - the City Prosperity Index - together with a conceptual matrix, the Wheel of Prosperity, both of which are meant to assist decision makers to design clear policy interventions. Toronto ranks 3rd on the Prosperity Index. The UN points to Toronto's quality of life as a major asset in efforts to attract and retain creative minds and businesses.

Sustainable Competitive Advantage and Prosperity - Planning for Employment Uses in the City of Toronto

This study's key conclusions are that sustaining Toronto's competitive advantage and prosperity will require:

Continued preservation of the industrial employment land base for its wealth generating capacity; and

A new focus on targeting new office space construction to realize future growth potential.

There is potential for Toronto to accommodate 200,000 more office jobs than indicated by a "business as usual" development path to 2041. Achieving this growth will depend on an integral alignment of planning, transit, and economic development initiatives. Success will bring balanced intensification and expanded tax revenues in addition to significant job growth and wealth generation.

Ontario is the North American leader in attracting foreign capital investment for the second straight year, according to the fDi Report 2015. The report by fDi Intelligence, a division of the Financial Times Limited, shows that Ontario continues to attract more foreign capital investment than its state and provincial counterparts. Ontario outperformed U.S. states and other Canadian provinces in 2014 in several key areas, including:

Leading for the second year in a row for foreign capital investment, receiving US $7.1 billion.

Moving up two places to rank third when it comes to foreign direct investment (FDI) job creation, with 13,055 jobs; up 6,102 jobs over 2013.

Ranking first for foreign capital investment in the automotive and life sciences sectors.

Ranking second for the number of FDI jobs in the financial services sector.

The year 2011 was a challenging one for the global FDI market. Natural disasters in Asia-Pacific and economic and political instability in Europe, north Africa and the Middle East led many companies to put on hold their FDI plans, leading to a sharp decline in FDI in many countries. North America, with brighter economic prospects and a ‘shale rush’, achieved solid FDI growth. Likewise, companies continued to be attracted to the investment opportunities in Africa and Latin America, with 20%-plus growth in FDI in each region. Brazil was again the star performer, with a 38% increase in FDI projects.

Ranked sixth in the world as a source of FDI, Canada is growing rapidly in importance as a global investor, establishing 41.9% more projects overseas in 2011 than in 2010. Capital investment from Canadian companies overseas grew even more, by an estimated 59.4% in 2011.

North America was the best performing region of the world in 2012, with the decline in FDI much sharper in the rest of the world. California was the leading state in the region, attracting 205 projects, more than one-tenth of FDI into North America. The top five states for FDI into North America remained unchanged from 2011 and in total accounted for 39.26% of the market in 2012. California accounted for 12.27% followed by New York (8.74%), Ontario (7.36%), Texas (6.94%) and Florida (3.95%).

Year: 2013

Categories:
Access to Capital, Business Environment, Global Hub, International Commerce

The fDi Report is the authoritative annual review of greenfield FDI provided by fDi Intelligence. Ontario was the leading state/province in North America in 2013, attracting $7.23billion in FDI, accounting for more than one-tenth of FDI in North America. Capital investment into Ontario more than doubled compared with 2012, despite a 23.81% decline in the number of projects and a 20.97% fall in the number of jobs created.

The 2012 Financial Development Report ranks 62 of the world’s leading financial systems and capital markets, analysing the drivers of financial system development in advanced and emerging economies to serve as a tool for countries to benchmark themselves and establish priorities for reform. The rankings are based on over 120 variables spanning institutional and business environments, financial stability, and size and depth of capital markets, among other factors.

This report investigates the countries where entrepreneurial clean technology companies are most likely to emerge from over the next 10 years – and why. Drawing on a wide range of factors and sources, the study seeks to answer the same question as the 2012 Global Cleantech Innovation Index, namely: which countries currently have the greatest potential to produce entrepreneurial cleantech start-up companies which will commercialise clean technology innovations over the next 10 years? Canada is in the Top 10 this year, coming in at number 7.

This report presents the 2015 edition of the Global Creativity Index, or GCI. The GCI is a broad-based measure for advanced economic growth and sustainable prosperity based on the 3Ts of economic development — talent, technology, and tolerance. It rates and ranks 139 nations worldwide on each of these dimensions and on our overall measure of creativity and prosperity. This year, Canada ranks fourth (up three spots from its previous ranking), after Sweden, the United States, and New Zealand.

The ICT Globalisation Index is an Economist Intelligence Unit report, commissioned by Huawei. Kim The report is based on a quantitative index composed of more than 25 indicators across four thematic categories: openness to information and communication technologies (ICT) trade, openness to foreign investment in the ICT sector, research and development (R&D) globalisation, and strength of the ICT environment. Canada lands in the top 10 with a score of 51.8.

The Safe Cities Index 2015 is an Economist Intelligence Unit report sponsored by NEC. The report is based on an index composed of more than 40 quantitative and qualitative indicators. These indicators are split across four thematic categories: digital security, health security, infrastructure safety, and personal safety. Every city in the Index is scored across these four categories. In 2015, Toronto ranks as the best place to live in the world, as well as the #1 safest city in North America and #8 worldwide.

This project is the first of its kind - examining 10 Canadian downtowns (Halifax, Fredericton, Ottawa, Toronto, London, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Vancouver and Victoria) to assess changes in attitudes, perceptions, functionality and performance over time. This project also aims to inspire and inform city builders, with many excellent and innovative approaches to downtown revitalization that are being applied across the nation.

The objective of this report from Site Selection Magazine and IBM Global Business Services is to develop various rankings of 100 cities around the world based on their competitiveness for attracting international (Greenfield) investment projects from several types of operations. Overall, the findings clearly show that the competitiveness of cities varies by sector and business function. As such, they indicate the limitations of looking at one overall index of competitiveness.

A great city fosters a vibrant cultural scene and recognizes the importance of the arts to the quality of life of its citizens. Strategic municipal arts investment is a key factor in generating a healthy city economy, promoting cultural tourism, creating training and employment opportunities, and seeding the cultural industries. The ability of artists and arts organizations to thrive in this city is fundamental to positioning Toronto as a creative city in the global marketplace.

Toronto as a Global City: Scorecard on Prosperity 2015 is an annual global benchmarking report produced by the Toronto Region Board of Trade. This edition of the publication identifies the Toronto region’s enormous economic potential for growth at home and abroad if businesses target the global economy’s high growth markets. By selling more products and services to more people, the region’s businesses can attract further global investment here, expand their firms and create more Canadian jobs.

As a top 10 global hub and the second largest financial services centre in North America, Toronto is ripe for partnerships with Asian investors looking for stable global platforms. Toronto Financial Services Alliance (TFSA) can help develop East-West synergies.

Toronto is in the midst of an office building boom unlike anything seen since the 1980s. Some 16 new office towers are currently under development and will add four million square feet of new space over the next three to four years.

The Summit brought together private sector leaders from key clusters to advance ideas and identify opportunities/challenges to better drive regional competitiveness. The Summit encouraged private sector business leaders to take the leadership role. Focusing on six key clusters (Life Sciences, Energy, ICT & Creative, Food & Beverage, Advanced Manufacturing and Transportation & Logistics) and leveraging best practices and the role model of Financial Services, the Summit will be the catalyst for new initiatives over the coming year.

Three Canadian cities rank among the top 20 “startup ecoystems” in the world according to a new report published Tuesday that forecast a shift in the concentration of entrepreneurial dominance. Toronto and Vancouver placed eighth and ninth, respectively, while Waterloo claimed the 16th spot on the the index, which measured factors like total entrepreneurship activity, available risk capital, the prevalence of support such as mentorship and service providers, access to talent and even mindset.

Toronto’s financial institutions are underpinned by Canada’s ranking as the world’s soundest banking system five years in a row (World Economic Forum, 2008–2012). The World Bank ranks Canada 5th worldwide for its strength of investor protection, and assigns Canada a maximum score for depth of credit information. Toronto is the 2nd largest financial services centre in North America by direct employment, behind only New York.

Toronto’s food and beverage cluster is the third largest – and fastest growing – in North America. With over 55,000 employees, more individuals in the Toronto Region work in food and beverage processing than anywhere else in Canada.

This report is essentially an update to the 2012-2013 local labour market plan, “Toronto’s Opportunities and Priorities” (TOP) report. This year’s focus is on another four sectors, namely: Film production and Sound recording, Publishing, Real estate and Utilities. While these are not Toronto’s largest employment clusters, they are significant contributors to the city’s economy, as well as sectors that differentiate Toronto from other areas of the province.

While much of the world has been beaten down by the global economic crisis, Toronto and Canada have offered a unique shelter from the storm. You can see it in the real estate investment flooding the core, in the new businesses opening across the GTA and in our continued success at luring young talent from around the globe. As several US cities and several European nations wrestle with how to downsize, Toronto's current challenges emerge from our growth-more people, more development, more prominence, more pressure.

This report is the product of a unique collaboration between the Toronto Region Board of Trade and the Institute for Competiveness & Prosperity, sponsored by KPMG. Drawing on the knowledge and expertise of these respective organizations, the report challenges us to think about what an economic game plan for the Toronto region would look like.

The 2014 Universitas 21 ranking of national systems retains the methodology of the 2013 rankings, but supplements this with an auxiliary ranking that takes account of stages of economic development. 24 desirable attributes are grouped under four broad headings: Resources, Environment, Connectivity and Output. Resource levels are highest in Denmark, followed by Canada, Sweden and the United Sates. On Output measures, the top five countries are the same as in 2013: the United States is again clearly first followed by the United Kingdom, Canada, Sweden and Finland.

• 220,000 employed in FS sector. Second largest in North America by direct employment behind New York
• Recovery in region’s FS sector employment has outpaced that in peer U.S. cities
• The ratio of FS employment to total employment is higher than in key U.S. financial centres
• The FS sector is the second largest employer for the Toronto region after manufacturing

Canada remains stable at 14th place of 148 countries studied. The country continues to benefit from highly efficient markets (with its goods, labor, and financial markets are ranked 17th, 7th, and 12th, respectively), well-functioning and transparent institutions (14th), and excellent infrastructure (12th). Canada is also successfully nurturing its human resources compared with other advanced economies (ranking 7th for health and primary education and 16th for higher education and training), providing the workforce with the skills needed to succeed in a competitive economy. Canada’s competitiveness would be further enhanced by improvements in its innovation ecosystem such as increased company-level spending on R&D and government procurement of advanced research products. The report also confirms that there is only one step required to establish a business in Canada, and reaffirms that Canada’s banking system is the soundest in the world for the 7th consecutive year.

The Human Capital Index quantifies how countries are developing and deploying their human capital and tracks progress over time. This Report provides comprehensive information on the talent base in each country, including information on education levels of the employed, unemployed and the inactive members of the population as well as the specific qualifications of the latest entrants to the workforce. This year, Canada ranks in the Top 5, along with Finland (1), Norway (2), Switzerland (3), and Japan (5).

The IMF’s World Economic Outlook contains analysis and projections that are integral elements of the IMF’s surveillance of economic developments and policies in its member countries, of developments in international financial markets, and of the global economic system. The April 2013 edition entitled Hopes, Realities, Risks discusses the global economic recovery in the world’s advanced, emerging market, and developing economies.

Global FDI declined in 2012, mainly due to continued macroeconomic fragility and policy uncertainty for investors, and it is forecast to rise only moderately over the next two years. Yet as this report reveals, the global picture masks a number of major dynamic developments. In 2012 – for the first time ever – developing economies absorbed more FDI than developed countries, with four developing economies ranked among the five largest recipients in the world. Developing countries also generated almost one third of global FDI outflows, continuing an upward trend that looks set to continue.

World Investment Report 2014 launched around the world; findings point to FDI recovery

The World Investment Report 2014, launched globally in 41 locations on 24 June, 2014, generated intense interest from the international development community and the media, where more than 500 articles have already appeared. The report's main findings on international investment trends show that foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows increased by 9 per cent in 2013 to $1.45 trillion. Developing countries increased their global share of FDI inflows to a record level of 54 per cent, and developing Asia now attracts more inward FDI than either the EU or the United States. As investors, developing and transition countries have been steadily increasing their investments abroad and last year they accounted for a record 39 per cent of global FDI outflows - up from just 12 per cent in the early 2000s. Canada falls in the top 10 for both FDI inflows and FDI outflows in 2012 and 2013.

Xpress to Richmond Hill; New transit lines and updated official plan mean development is booming along Yonge St.

It's hard to imagine that this once sleepy rural town is where the David Dunlap Observatory was erected in 1935, far enough north of the light pollution emanating from the bustling new metropolis of Toronto.But that was then. Now, enroute to Richmond Hill, travelling north on what is now known as Old Yonge St., one sees the results of years of urban sprawl, which has left a succession of bland strip malls, car dealerships and concrete block apartment buildings. Nothing much has changed here in decades.

In the Youthful Cities Affordability Index, Toronto-based group Decode ranked 25 of the world’s largest cities according to various factors to find out the most affordable. Looking at the results, Paris takes the top spot, followed by Toronto, Los Angeles, Chicago and Berlin. The criteria included everything from minimum wage levels and rent prices to the cost of burgers. Since young adults often rely on entry-level jobs to enter the labour market, the report states that comparing costs to an hour of minimum wage work was the best way to measure a city’s affordability.